Braxton announces bid for reelection

Williamsburg City Council member Bobby Braxton has officially declared his candidacy for re-election.

“I feel great at the way things turned out,” Braxton said. “[By that] I mean the city, William and Mary, Colonial
Williamsburg, all of it.”

Braxton is the fourth candidate to officially declare, following Scott Foster ’10 and Williamsburg Planning Commission member Sean Driscoll. David Dafashy, a physician at the College of William and Mary Student
Health Center, declared his candidacy Thursday.

Prior to his announcement Friday, Braxton had been cryptic in announcing whether or not he would be seeking re-election. While he had been circulating the necessary petitions to get his name on the ballot, he repeatedly declined to officially announce his candidacy for the May 4 election.

“There were things I wanted to get done before I announced, and I got them done. It’s just like any other project,” Braxton said.

Braxton was born and raised in Williamsburg and attended Hampton University before returning to the area.
He was elected to his first term on the council in 2006.

“I’m a regional person,” Braxton said. “I’m trying to get people to work together.”

Recently, Braxton was a dissenting vote in the council decision to allow exceptions to the three-person housing rule, which prohibits more than three unrelated individuals from sharing a housing unit. Under the new ordinance, houses larger than 2,000 square feet and have at least four parking spots may be eligible for a special use permit, which would allow up to four residents.